Business News

Trump’s social media company approved to go public, potentially netting former president billions

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is returning to the stock market. Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded shell company, approved a deal to merge with the former president’s media business in a Friday vote. That means Trump Media & Technology Group, whose flagship product is social networking site Truth Social, will soon begin trading on the Nasdaq stock market. The deal’s greenlight arrives at a time the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is facing his most costly legal battle to date: a $454 million judgment in a fraud lawsuit.

Justice Department sues Apple, alleging it illegally monopolized the smartphone market

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors, stifles innovation and keeps prices artificially high. The lawsuit — filed with 16 state attorneys general — is just the latest example of aggressive antitrust enforcement by an administration that has also taken on Google, Amazon and other tech giants with the stated aim of making the digital universe more fair, innovative and competitive.

French President Macron regrets the Senate’s vote to reject the EU-Canada trade deal

BRUSSELS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says he “regrets” the Senate’s vote to reject legislation to ratify a trade deal between the European Union and Canada. The so-called CETA deal has been criticized by farmers as bringing unfair competition from abroad. It provisionally went into effect in September 2017 after all EU governments agreed to it, but its full implementation requires approval by each national parliament. Thursday’s vote in the French Senate does not necessarily mean that the country ultimately will reject ratification. Macron said the text is to be sent back to France’s lower house of parliament for further discussion. Major farmers’ unions and food producer organizations in France say the CETA agreement would in the long term hurt the country’s food industry.

What is Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media platform?

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Former President Donald Trump launched his social media platform, Truth Social, in early 2022, after he was banned from major sites such as Facebook and the former Twitter following the Jan. 6 insurrection. While he’s since been reinstated to both, he’s largely stayed off X, the Elon Musk-owned platform that was once his primary megaphone. That’s unlikely to change even as Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs Truth Social, is expected to start trading on the NASDAQ stock market soon. That’s even though Trump reaches fewer people on his platform, where he has less than 7 million followers compared with 91 million on X.

How freelancers can prepare for changing tax requirements

NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re a freelancer or gig worker who receives payments via apps like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App or PayPal, your tax reporting requirements will change for the 2024 tax year. Right now, for the current 2023 tax year, freelancers and small online sellers need only report payments totaling $20,000 or any number of payments above a threshold of 200 with 1099-K forms. But beginning next year, that threshold will be $5,000, which will eventually be lowered even further, to $600.

Reddit, the self-anointed ‘front page of the internet,’ soars in Wall Street debut

NEW YORK (AP) — Reddit soared in its Wall Street debut as investors pushed the value of the company close to $9 billion seconds after it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Reddit, which priced its IPO at $34 a share, debuted Thursday afternoon at $47 a share. Reddit’s stock closed up 48% at $50.44. The IPO will test the quirky company’s ability to overcome a nearly 20-year history colored by uninterrupted losses, management turmoil and occasional user backlashes to build a sustainable business.

Stock market today: Wall Street edges back from records but remains on track for a big winning week

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is easing off its record highs but is still heading toward the close of its best week for 2024 so far. The S&P 500 was down 0.2% Friday after setting an all-time high in each of the last three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 180 points, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower. Nike was dragging on the market despite reporting stronger results than expected. Digital World’s stock flipped to a loss in shaky trading after its shareholders approved a deal to merge with former President Donald Trump’s company. Treasury yields eased.

The EU will impose tariffs on Russian grain, fearing Moscow will use exports as a weapon of war

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission wants to prevent Russia from using agriculture products as a tool to wreak havoc on the EU market and will impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus. Imports of cereals, oilseeds and derived products from Russia and its Belarus ally are just about 1% of the overall size of the EU market, with domestic suppliers providing the bulk. But with angry famers already worried by the increase of cheap Ukrainian imports, the EU fears Russia will be encouraged to take advantage of the tense situation to further destabilize the 27-nation bloc.

California Democratic lawmakers seek ways to combat retail theft while keeping progressive policy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are split on how to best address the retail theft cases that have proliferated in the state. Top Democratic leaders reject calls to reform Proposition 47, an initiative approved by voters in 2014 that reduced penalties for certain retail theft and drug offense charges. Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state has enough tools to go after professional crime rings. He urges lawmakers to work on legislation bolstering existing laws and cracking down on resellers of stolen goods. But Republican and moderate Democrat lawmakers say California needs to consider all options to end the crisis. They want to go back to voters to implement harsher jail sentences for repeat offenders.

New bipartisan bill would require online identification, labeling of AI-generated videos and audio

WASHINGTON (AP) — New bipartisan legislation introduced in the House would require the identification and labeling of online content generated using artificial intelligence. The proposal aims to protect users from the risks of so-called AI deepfakes, lifelike images, videos and audio created by artificial intelligence that can be hard or impossible to tell from the real thing. The bill introduced by Democrat Anna Eshoo of California and Republican Neal Dunn of Florida would require AI developers to identify their products using metadata visible to online platforms. The platforms would then be required to label AI content so users would know. If passed, the proposal would complement an executive order on AI signed by President Joe Biden last fall.